Childhood Dreams
by MidniteMasquerade
Summary: Clove has been having the same dream since she was a kid. Every time she dreams she's in the same place with the same nameless boy. What happens the dreams and boy start to change as Clove's fate regarding the upcoming 74th Hunger Games nears?
1. The sky turned red

A pair of eyes flashed open. Clove blinked at least 10 times before everything had adjusted and registered to her. She sat up and looked around at her surroundings; she had the painful urge to turn over and puke.

She was sitting in the middle of some type of valley; towering, snow capped mountains lined the edges like a bowl. Her small framed body was covered in a flowing, loose fitting white dress. Her feet were bare and buried within large flowers of yellow, pink, orange, white and red.

Tress were randomly scattered around; their pale blue leaves fluttered in the gentle breeze. The sky resembled that of the early morning. The ends of the dome above her were a mix of pink, and gold, before it turned into a lighter blue the further you went in, until you met the very heart of the sky where it was still a deep blue.

If it wasn't for the fact that she loathed girly and clichéd things, she would've actually thought this scenery was rather beautiful.

"11 years, and this still makes you want to puke your guts out? You never fail me Clove."

Clove rolled her eyes and turned to the presence that could never fail _her_.

Laying beside her in the sickeningly vibrant flowers was a boy. He had blonde hair and sweet blue eyes. As he laid on his back, the palm of his hands supported his head. His frames was small, and he had very undefined muscles though he appeared to be older than her.

He had on a loose fitting white t-shirt pants. Just like always.

This boy had been in her dreams since before she can remember. Every night she has this dream; same place, same wardrobe, same boy. Every night.

Though she had grown older, he had always been the same age and his appearance had never changed since she was a child. By now Clove expected they were the same age or close, but she never knew. She didn't even know his name, if he had one that is.

Some nights she would lay in bed telling herself over and over again that she would ask him; who he was, why he was there, and why did he stay the same. But when she ended up _here_, she always forgot.

"I'm 14 not 11 smart one." Her words cut like the knives she enjoyed so much. Even as an infant, she had no tolerance for any bullshit. The boy turned his head and smirked at her.

"You're a real pain, you know that?"

"Maybe you're too soft." She replied laying back down upon the bed of flowers that practically devoured them.

The two of them laid there in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. They watched the birds come out of their nest and fly overhead. The sky became lighter and brighter. Small, faint clouds drifted their way into the air; replacing the dewy mist. The breezed picked up a bit.

Right on cue, the boy let out a content sigh. A small smile that lasted for a small second traced Clove's face. She had loved the routine that occurred like clockwork around here.

She then let out a content sigh herself. "As much as I hate this place, I wouldn't mind staying here forever." She hadn't meant to let those words come out but they did and she didn't even bother to take them back.

Clove never let her walls down in front of anyone. Which was strange considering she had no need for a defense mechanism whatsoever. She was highly respected in everything she did. Even the stupid finger paintings she created as a child.

And yet here she was pouring out her most inner thoughts to a figment of her imagination.

"Why?" the boy turned his head a little towards her.

"Things seem less complicated." Her voice was so soft now. Again, here she was letting words she swore not to say come right out of her mouth and into the open air.

"Because…" he prompted her.

"I don't know… they just seem less complicated." Her voice was bordering a whisper.

"I see…"

Clove sat up and sharply turned to him. "Do you? Do you see?" she hadn't meant to speak to him so coldly. She was just frustrated and confused. Particularly as to how she can say everything she feels almost as if she was doing it involuntarily.

The boy said nothing immediately, but he held her gaze. "I think the question is do _you_ see?"

"See what?"

"That's the point." Okay, he was really starting to confuse her now. Clove was completely bewildered. The boy sighed and sat up beside her. "Things are only ever complicated because you're getting something wrong. A thought, an image, an action, whatever it is, you're getting it wrong."

"I am not!" she was already defending herself, even though she didn't know what she was defending herself from. What he had said was completely true; no doubt about it.

He said nothing and laid back down, letting out another sigh. "Well I know you know it's true Clove. And to answer one of your previous question, yes, I do see. I see what you're getting wrong too."

Clove's eyes narrowed into slits. "How can you see when you're not real."

The boy turned his head to her again. A fat grin plastered on his face. "That's another thing you're getting wrong."

Before Clove could respond, the ground started to shake as her alarm blared. The sky turned red and the flowers caught fire.

Clove jumped out of her bed and smacked her clock with her hand. Her heart was racing; she had never had that happen.

Her alarm clock had woken up from her dream like that many times before, but it was never like that. The flowers never burst into flames like that, the sky never turned red, the ground never shook, and her alarm was never that deafening.

She sat on the edge of her bed and held her face in her hands for a moment; trying to gather herself. She let her heart rate slow down before getting up to look in the mirror.

"What am I getting wrong?" She whispered.

AN:_ Hey guys! Okay this is my first Hunger Games fanfic and I would appreciate some constructive criticism. Clato is my fave! This story came to me from this song I was listening to, 'Childhood dreams' (like the title) by Nelly Furtado. Little warning: I take a little long sometimes so bare with me._

_You can follow me on Twitter if you like MidniteMasquera_

_And on Tumblr: MidniteMasquerade_

_Don't forget to leave a review!_

_~L. _


	2. Like the asshole he was

A sudden knocking came from the door. Clove jumped; completely caught off guard. She muttered more than a dozen profanities as she crossed the room. "What?" she snapped at the counselor that stood in front of her. Usually adults would snap right back at their rudeness, but she had dealt with enough Career brats like Clove to become unfazed.

"You're late." She spoke in monotone and was absorbed in whatever was on her Capitol issued clipboard. Clove frowned.

"What do you mean I'm late? My training time doesn't start for another 2 hours." Clove along with all the other kids of District 2 who were 12-18 were currently at the training academy. Throughout the year, even during the Games themselves, you can find future Careers training here.

When the reaping is at least 6 months away, kids start to move into the dorms they provide to get the 24 hour training they want. Particularly the 18 year-olds who will most likely volunteer this year.

The counselor looked up at her with same expression of confusion. "No your training time starts in 15 minutes. You were suppose to be a breakfast and check-in at least a half hour ago. You are in Unit 1 right?"

Clove set aside her bewilderment as she was taken aback. Unit one was reserved for the highly advanced; it was known as the 'Class A Career' unit. Everyone in it were some of the best; even capable of giving the Panem's most accomplished Victors a run for their money.

"I'm in Unit 3."

The counselor frowned before scrolling through her clipboard. "Did Calvin not tell you that you had been moved up?"

"What?" Clove's face morphed into a Cheshire grin. She had been moved up; she was now a 'Class A Career'. Arrogant pride radiated from her.

The counselor rolled her eyes; fed up with her co-worker's lack of responsibility. "Well you were transferred. Go get ready. Eat, check-in and warm up. I'll tell your new unit leader what happened."

Clove didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed her towel and sprinted to the showers. At breakfast, she took the liberty of an extra 5 minutes to sit and eat properly before heading to the warm up room.

About an hour later she was standing in front of the heavy chrome doors that lead into the training room of the legendary Unit 1.

As she reached for the handles, the door opened on its own. Clove instantly bounced into defense position. Out from behind the door stepped her new unit leader. He was literally a foot taller than her. Clove had to crane her neck back just to meet his eyes.

"Clover. Welcome." He was stern, cold, and fast paced. Wasting no time, he ushered her into the training room. It was buzzing with activity.

Kids were busy at each station; mercilessly beating the stuffing out of punching bags, attacking one another in combat, slicing the limbs off helpless dummies, swinging through the monkey bars, and climbing walls like a spider.

"You have 3 mandatory exercises before you can do anything on your own terms. Got it." That last bit wasn't a question, it was a statement. "There are some personal trainers that will be working with you at your mandatory stations."

Without another word, Clove was sent off to work. She barely made it through the first 2 courses. Unknown to her until she saw the clock, the exercises were being timed. She scraped by with atleast 10 seconds to spare though.

Her 3rd station was to climb a rock wall without any harness. She figured it wouldn't be too difficult, the one thing that she was taught about climbing was that you had to be small and agile.

Which was everything that she was. She coated her hands with some chalk and started her task as the timer chimed; signaling her time to start. She was completely unaware that every eye in the room was on her. Not necessarily staring at her, but glancing really.

She jumped and latched onto the lowest protruding rock; which was barely in her reach. Being the height she was her weakest point. She was holding on with nothing but her fingertips. She gritted her teeth and with as much strength as possible; she pulled herself up.

She probably lifted the rest of her body up about 3 inches before her fingers could not support her anymore. She tried to use her arms rather than her hands, but it didn't make much of a difference.

"Use your legs. Climbing isn't just about your arms. Use your legs." Her trainer instructed. Clove nodded as best as she could and proceeded to use her lower limbs.

She put her feet against the wall and pushed herself up. There was a pounding in her ears; she still struggled to pull herself up, but she lifted herself enough to reach another rock. But the chalk she bathed her hands in earlier had been overpowered with the sweat the was starting to make an appearance on her body. And it didn't help that the stones were actually plastic; making some places slick and hard to grip.

Like the rock one of her hands has gripped onto now.

Like before, only her fingertips could get any grip. She tried to push more with her feet, and she succeeded. She released her hand from the rock to reattach it for more support. But upon reaching for the rock again, she missed and fell.

She hadn't made it that far up, so impact with the mat below hadn't been that bad; except for the fact that the wind had been knocked out of her. She laid on her back, trying to catch her breath again. She pulled herself off the ground to try again.

She glanced at the timer that beeped as the seconds past. She had to complete this course in 3 minutes and so far she had wasted half of that time. She couldn't understand how anyone could climb a 60 foot wall in 3 minutes time.

Clove looked around at the others in the room. Half of them looked away as she met their gaze and returned to what they were doing, others held it longer.

Clove turned back to the wall and started again. She jumped to the rock she first had and gripped on, but the muscles in her arms had strained to much already to work any longer. She failed and fell again. She landed on her feet but stumbled.

Then she tried and jumped once more, but failed. The beeping of the timer got louder, signaling there was less than 30 seconds left. Clove jumped, grabbed, slipped, fell, then she jumped, grabbed, slipped and fell.

"Time is up!" her trainer yelled over the sound of the buzzer. Clove took in deep breaths; despite all she was feeling she would not show how upset she was with her failure. Not in front of these Careers that is.

Her trainer was tapping away at the clipboard he had before looking back up to her. "You need to work on upper body strength and coordination. You can do whatever you please now. After dinner we'll work with you some more." He said bluntly before walking away wordlessly.

Clove couldn't care less. She just wanted to get her hands on a pair of knives before she imploded. She walked away from the station seething.

The knives station was in the back next to swords and spears. She was too tired to throw the knives at the dummies in the way back; she kept her focus on the front ones.

Behind her, a group of 3 or 4 Careers were eyeing her like prey. She could feel their eyes but she did nothing about it; she continued to flick her wrists sending the daggers into the bull's-eye.

She could hear them whispering amongst themselves: "She's so tiny, in combat, I bet a 12 year-old could take her down."

"She barely passed the first 2 courses. How did she get placed here?"

"Maybe she slept with the unit leader." Cackling then commenced. Clove started to throw the knives a little harder.

"I don't know… I've heard that she's never missed a target." Clove allowed herself to smirk. So word about her skill had spread. She heard someone scoff.

"Oh please." A large muscular boy came into view out of the corner of her eye; most likely the one who had expressed their skepticism. His eyes were severely trained on her; burning holes into her skull.

Clove could feel his skepticism growing as she sloppily chucked her weapons mainly because she really wasn't trying to get the knife perfectly in the bull's-eye; still not on target though.

She shook off his stare and decided to work on what she calls 'kill blows'; shots to the major arteries of the human body. She threw her knives harder and to the second row of dummies. The blades hitting them perfectly in the neck, chest, and pelvis.

The asshole who scoffed at her earlier was now leant up against a dummy back in the swords and spears station right across from her. "She can't even throw a bull's-eye at a dummy more than 7 feet away. She'd probably be the first one to get slaughtered in the Games."

That was the last straw for Clove. She sharply snapped her head towards him to make her mark. He was laughing like the bastard he was; finding himself incredibly funny. Her eyes narrowed as she picked up the largest knife; with grace and power, she sent it flying through the air and at him.

The boy's mocking laughter stopped instantly when the silver lethal weapon lodged itself into the bull's-eye of the dummy's head his very own was leant up against. Literally centimeters from his ear.

He stared at her. Small traces of fear and shock lined his irises before a murderous rage filled his features. This girl obviously didn't know who she was fucking with.

Clove held his glare; sizing up to him even before returning to her work. The Careers that were huddled behind her had their mouths hanging open in the wind. But their shock turned to smirks; the air had 'fight' written all over it.

And sure enough, as Clove reached for a small pocket knife, a gigantic metal spear flew across the room and landed right at her fingertips; slicing the top of her ring, middle, and index finger.

Clove stared at the crimson liquid that started to flow out. It wasn't the pain that stunned her, it was the fact that this boy had the audacity to make a comeback after the near death blow she'd given him. She snapped her head up at him; eyes flashing dangerously. This boy obviously didn't know who he was fucking with.

He held her glare before grabbing another spear. By that time Clove had 2 knives in her hands and more strapped onto her belt. The two of them charged at each other. He tried to throw the spear, but she was too quick and dodged it.

Clove sent a few knives soaring his way and somehow he managed to smack them right out of the air. She realized that this was going to have to be a head-on fight; no weapons, just skin. Clove figured she could take him. Being small had their advantages; she learned to fight with pure skill and technique rather than to fight with pure brute force. Which was what she figured he'd do.

Clove dodged a powerful right hook and gave him an equally powerful kick to his tailbone with her steel toed boot. He let out breathy grunt as he stumbled. Before he could regroup and turn to attack her, she swung her foot up and delivered a painful blow to the side of his face.

The boy fell onto the ground; enough dancing around with this bitch. He got up and lunged at her. This time she wasn't quick enough and received a slap to the face; she fell flat on her ass. She knew there was going to be a bruise there in the morning.

Clove pulled herself up and then, unexpectedly, was grabbed by her collar and lifted into the air. The boy was spinning her around like this was some sort of hammer throw competition. Somehow she twisted and curled her way out of his iron grip and fell to the concrete floor. Her head making a sickening crack upon impact.

Clove cradled her throbbing head within her hands. Colors swirled in and out of her blurred vision. She could, however, see the boy smirking as he approached. All the while, Clove kept wondering where the Peacekeepers were.

They were being held back by the other Careers.

"I wonder how much force I have to put down in order to crush your neck." The boy lifted his foot and placed it on her windpipe. Clove immediately gasped for air and thrashed about; trying to breath with ease again. "Apparently, not much."

He increased the pressure. Clove's vision went in and out of focus like a very confused camera; only adding to the pain in her head. She continued to thrash around when something pierced her in her back. She let out a whimper and moved her hand under her tailbone.

She had completely forgot she strapped a knife back there. She lifted her waist to pull it out. Before the boy had any time to react, Clove impaled him at the top of his calf, then dragged the blade down to his ankle; blood squirted out of his completely sliced open leg and coated her face.

He fell back, screaming in agony. Finally the Peacekeepers were able to break through from the wall of Careers and drag the 2 teens away from each other, but by that time, they had both passed out.

AN:_ Here's another chapter _


	3. It's just Clove

Clove couldn't believe it. After the grueling fight she had just endured less than 24 hours ago, the Academy decided to put the offending bastard in the hospital next to her. He whined like a prepubescent bitch.

She watched him stir awake. He took one look at his leg, wrapped in layers of gauze with some Capitol medicine oozing around the edges, and cursed colorfully; blaming the world for his sorrow and agony.

"Oh please." Clove muttered; exasperated with this boy. He sharply turned his head to look at her. His eyes turned to angry slits.

"Why the hell did they put us right next to each other?"

"Funny, I asked myself the same question." Their attention snapped to the automatic door as the President of the Academy walked in briskly.

"What happened between the 2 of you yesterday was both immature, and idiotic." He said bluntly.

The boy scoffed. "What does it matter? When we get into the arena, I'll just kill her anyway." Clove sent him a quick glare.

"No you won't just kill her anyway." The president retorted. "Do you know why District 2 has the most victors?" he stopped to let them answer.

"Because you kiss the Capitol's ass." Clove smirked at the displeasure on the president's face.

"No, because we train our tributes to work together. From the day you are reaped, to the day you 2 are the last ones standing, you guys fight beside one another as a team. Clove, if you were to join Cato in the Games this year, you would cover his back side until the very end. And vice versa."

So Cato is his name… Nah, 'Prince Asshole' has a better ring to it.

"And because of what happened, you guys are going to work together more than ever. Starting tomorrow, at 3am you're going to go down to the cafeteria on kitchen duty. Cleaning the floors, washing the dishes, and all that good stuff. Then you are going to work in training rooms 1-10 replacing dummies, sharpening weapons, and scrubbing away any blood on the walls and or floors."

Clove gave an inward groan in an attempt to hide her dismay, but the president still heard it.

"Life is unfair Miss Caster, suck it up. From this point forward, you are going to work together, eat together, train together, pee together, sweat together, suffer together, and I might even force you to make love to one another!"

Clove's face scrunched in disgust. The boy, Cato, chuckled and turned towards her. "You know, most girls wouldn't consider that a punishment." He waggled his eyebrows.

What a narcissistic jerk. Clove rolled her eyes. "I would rather beg for mercy." Cato instantly frowned. In District 2, begging for anything was a sure sign of weakness. Especially when you're a Career. So to have someone say that to you is the greatest insult.

"Then after dinner, you 2 are going to train one another." The president continued.

"Don't you mean we're going to train _with_ one another?" Clove corrected.

"The both of you can do something the other can't. so you will teach and learn from each other. Any questions?" Cato and Clove said nothing. "Good…" the president turned and walked out.

The next morning, they did just that. Cato agreed to take the cafeteria and Clove took the kitchen. Not even 15 minutes later, her fingers were pruned and they reeked of the leftover food she scraped off of the trays.

Between putting away dishes and cleaning out the trays, Clove worked on her studies. Training wasn't just about skill, force, agility, and so on; intelligence was needed. No one else wanted to learn these things, they were optional, but she didn't care. She can't remember how many times she watched a tribute's arrogance get in the way of common sense.

She was torn between laughing and shooting herself in the head when a Career ran after the slightest sign of movement; only to bring themselves into a trap and eventually their own death. As soon as she started training, she swore she would never have that happen to her.

As she placed a freshly washed large kettle onto the drying rack, the doors to the kitchen opened.

"I'm done with my share." She turned to see Cato.

"What do you mean you're done? There are over a thousand tables and chairs to clean. There's no way someone like you could get done that fast, I mean we started less than half an hour ago." She made so effort to sugarcoat the hostility.

He frowned. "What do you mean someone like me?" he took a menacing small step forward; his arms were crossed and his defensives were raised.

Clove scoffed and completely turned to face him, copying his stance. "You know what I mean: self absorbed, arrogant, unintelligent, sleazy, and manipulative." she expected him to at least tense, but instead, with every word she, a smirk grew on his face.

"But isn't that _why_ I could get done that fast?" Clove furrowed her eyebrows together. Cato grinned and cocked his head toward the doors. "Go see what I mean."

Clove moved past him and stuck her head out. _Figures… _hustling and bustling around the cafeteria were younger trainees. She rolled her eyes and turned back to him. "You're an unimaginable bastard you know that."

Cato chuckled and chomped down on an apple. "Thanks." He let the juice slide down his chin.

"Help." She threw a sponge at him. He looked at her with that _'you've got to be kidding'_ look. He turned around and poked his head out of the doors, seconds later, a pair of young girls walked in.

"Do the dishes." He ordered. The barely awake children shuffled to the sink and began to wash pots and plates. "You're welcome Clover."

She tensed. "It's just Clove." _Clover._ A small, tiny, plant that is used in cooking and is believed to bring luck. Not the name best suited for a deadly dame like her.

"How did you get into Unit 1, Clover?" deliberately ignoring her last response. He sure knew how to get under people's skin.

"I'm good with knives. Remember." she eyed his leg. It was still wrapped up. He looked down and frowned.

"I figured, but a lot of people could do what you did. What makes you so special?" He stepped closer to her, trying to intimidate her.

"I never miss." She stated simply; an air of superiority in her tone. Cato raised his eyebrows. Quite the skeptic isn't he?

"Liar." He challenged.

Clove looked around and picked up a small table knife. "See that can?" she pointed to a tall metal cup in an open cupboard a good 40 feet across the large kitchen. "I can get this in there."

Cato raised his eyebrows higher and she returned his expression.

"Think I can't?"

"I didn't say that. Try all you want." He stepped out of her way. Clove took the back side of the knife and pressed it against her nose, aiming it perfectly. Unexpectedly, she turned around, her back to the target. In the blink of an eye, she released the small knife into the air behind her.

It soared over the can and hit the back wall within the cupboard. Cato was about to laugh at her, but the small ricochet of the knife bounced it off the wall and straight into the can where it clattered before settling to the side.

Clove turns around; face set into a firm smirk. "I never miss."

AN: _Okay. Another chapter for you. Sorry for taking so long. It was all my homework and volleyball practice. Thanks for the reviews loves! Really appreciated it. I'm trying not to make Cato and Clove completely OOC (they might be at some point), only because I like the idea of a violent romance. Someone commented on that so I thought I should address it._

_So tell me what ya think! _


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